And no, the "RodneyDillosphere" is not an acceptable replacement.

no one is speaking, I'll take a few cracks at it,

civitas diurnalis, everyone seems to love latin

or

pajama writers

or

watch out cnn peep's

or

officious linkers

or

those who steal the traffic from the millions who are humble

or

those whom tolerate malkin

or

those whom renamed puppy blender Lincolns cabin boy

or

an MSM soloist, with friends

or

Deutero-Media

I agree. "Blogosphere" is not something I can say with a straight face to the uninitiated.

But these aren't much better:

BlogWorld
Blogiverse
Blog Realm
USM (up-stream-meadia)
Bloggeratti
Distributed Media
Narrowcast Media
Pull Media (as opposed to "push", like TV and radio)
Decentralized Journalism
Peer-to-Peer Media.

The problem is that "blogosphere" is just so damn descriptive. It is about "blogs", not the broader category of "alternative media". And the blogoshpere is a rather self-contained phenomenon, like an "ecoshpere" or "hemishpere".

Any new phrase will necessarily sacrifice some level of accuracy and descriptiveness. In return, hopefully, we'll get something that sounds catchier or makes for a cool acronym...

Like "BM". Blog Media.

Then we can have an apples-to-apples alternative to MSM.

Plus, it will be pretty funny when someone has "the BM on his ass." Meaning the Blog Media are following a story about someone.

(The joke, of course, is that BM also stands for Bowel Movement. And if you were heading up CNN, you'd think the new BM stinks, too... At least as far as your interests are concerned.)

blognoscentia

I have never really had that much of a problem with blogosphere. It's much better than the previously preferred term: Blogistan. (cf. http://www.arguewithsigns.net/archives/2004/07/11/war_with_blogistan/)

How about CSM? Cyber Stream Media is neither left nor right nor a conspiracy but is vast.

Of course, such will never catch on, because when LSM (formerly MSM)references bloggers the operative mode is pejorative. Probably they would prefer BSM, for Bovine Scat Maunderings.

The problem is we've all gotten so damn used to "blogosphere". Even non-bloggers know what we are. If it was going to change, it would have a long time ago. :)

That said, this is a good opportunity for some political correctness.

Personal Beliefs of TCP/IP

Considering 2/3rds of Americans don't even know what a blog is I think it's getting a little ahead of ourselves to go and rename it already. I agree blogosphere sounds stupid and it kind of reminds me of that biosphere project in Arizona that was like Big Brother for the environment...if I had to pick a second choice it would be something as equally inane like the already suggested blogiverse or blogmunity or blogmos or blogcosm (blog + cosmos)or bloggerhood. Blech.

I like the term blogosphere. The analogy is to noosphere, the realm of consciousness of thought.

RodneyDillArena

OnlineIntegratedCircuit
The OIC

I'll admit I was inclined toward blogoverse for a while, but blogosphere got to be pervasive, so I went along.

Maybe the best term for all bloggers collectively would simply be "the Blog Collective."

Though Prof. Reynolds might not like being referred to as the Blog Queen...

Bloggsylvania

The problem with the word is that it sounds made up -- it's pretentious. Sometimes words get made up and they work, like astronaut. I agree that this one doesn't work, but I'm at a loss for a substitute. Hell, I mean, whats wrong with "The Blogs"?

I concur. "Blogosphere" implies that it's a separate, contained phenomenon, which is not true by any means.

I like to call it "New Media," myself.

I'm sticking with "blogdom," simply because it's less lame than, say, "blogeoisie."

"New Media" works fine, until there's a newer one. But that might take at least a few months, so I say go for it.

OIC is already taken by Organization of Islamic Conference, something I gather most bloggers'd just as soon not be confused with.

"Pixelators" works on several levels, most of them snarky.

"Universal Conversation Engine" is accurately descriptive, but UCE, with or without suffixes, might not work. Although, were it pronounced "You-See", it just might.

The virtue of "blogosphere" is that it describes a metaphorical space onto which one can map various blogs, albeit only very roughly. Most generally, there's the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere, but within each there is also room for diverse positions. And I like the imagery of the bloggers at the extremes sort of "falling off the world."

If there were a better word, I'm relatively sure that it would have surfaced and gained currency by now.

I'm going to TB the post and actually give it some thought. But off the top of my head, while being a butt head, as there are X million number of blogs - I say consider the Bullshitiverse. Or maybe the BS-iverse for the BS-adverse - so existential, don't ya think??

We can call it Blogscape

The Most Holy Kingdom of Citizen Journalists... heh.

I've always used, "internets"

How about WaPo/Howard Kurtz' asinine characterization:

"The salivating morons who make up the lynch mob"
OK, that's too long.

"TSMWMUTLM"?
"Salivating Morons"?
"Lynch Mob"?

Given Bill Gates' track record, it will one day be known as The MSN Weblog Zone.

The Federalist Papers

Carnival of the Blogs
Carnivalsphere
Memesphere
Blogweb
Big Tent
Altersphere
FirstAmendsphere

I dunno. I kind of like blogosphere.

Hey, I'm supposed to come up with all the sucky ones that play off my name, like
Rodney's Blogorific Adventure

Seriously, its hard to envision something without Blog in the name being widely accepted.

I saw Blogdom above, with is short and fairly descriptive.

Blognet
Blogworks
Blogline

Vox Pop Engine (VPE)

Synonym's for Vox Pop include:
climate of opinion, community sentiment, consensus gentium, conventional wisdom, general belief, group pressure, popular belief, prevailing belief, prevailing sentiment, public belief, social pressure, special-interest pressure, vox populi

Cupitor Sanus
Cupitor Veritas

I think that James has used blog net in a few posts ...

"Blog" is a dumb, ugly word. It sounds like a drink barbarians consume after coming home from pillaging. If we dump "blogosphere" "blog" should follow.

Worldwide Pyjamarama
The Peanut Gallery
The Alternative Media
Amateur Media Network
The Collective Wisdom (instead of Conventional Wisdom)
The Blog Collective (Resistance is Futile!)

WebLogia

WebMedia

TerraWeb

Planet Blog

TWICS [The Worldwide Interent Connective System]

The Orbital

Fresh Air

All the Whos Down in Whoville.

FIRE
Framework of Independent Research Engines

Pajamaland, home of the Pajamahadeen.

Oops, wait -- make that Pajamastan!

Virginia asked, "How about CSM?" The overloading of acronyms is problematic. I don't think we'd want to pick a name for ourselves that also means "cerebro-spinal meningitis."

I like New Media but we may not want to be too closely associated with Media.
Cyber Stream Media is more descriptive of what is going on.
Blogverse.
Or to follow up on Bloggsylvania:
Blogorado
Blogofornia
Bloghio
Blogisota
Blogosee
Blogerica
Blogorida
Bloginois
Blogexas

"Bitchosphere"

Bob

I usually just shorten it to the 'sphere. I like blogdom... blogscape is good too, and i'll probably use both liberally when I get tired of writing one or the other...
it's not like there's ever going to be a single name, or an authority who could actually get everyone to start using it. It's a meme... the least controllable entity known to man. Call it whatever you want... the best name will win.

blogolutionaries
voxblog

Sean Hackbarth got it right - whatever the word is, it shouldn't contain the word "blog" itself. It sounds too close to bog, log, grog, frog, etc.

I like the "pajamastan" suggestion. Has anyone suggested "digital front porch"?

You know, blogosphere would sound much better as a word if one eliminated the second "o" and replaced it with a much prettier "-"
Think of all the lovely vowels.

Blog-Sphere
Shake-speare
Not-here.
Got beer?

I am not so sure that we can implement a name change ourselves. The root of Blogosphere is (of course) "blog." Phonetically, Blogosphere seems to roll of the tongue.

To change the name of the 'Sphere, I think that the first thing that needs to be done is to formulate (and publicize) an alternative to "Blog."

Objectively, I think that as long as the word "blog" is part of the equation, we are (I know it's lamentable) stuck with "Blogosphere."